Contest Details!

Do you know of a really fun, entertaining and useful exercise related blog or website? If so, you could be the Lucky Winner of $15 in Gift Cards to the Bears Den! All you need to do is submit a link to the site or sites you wish to nominate to byron.teamred@gmail.com before noon on Jan. 10th. I'll post links to all the submissions on this blog the afternoon of Jan 10th, and set up a poll for you to vote for your favorite!

A few contest notes:

• The submitted blog or website does not have to be running centric, but must be exercise/fitness related.
• The site can be local.. or from a land far far away.
• You may submit multiple entries.
• In the event multiple people submit the same blog or website, the first one received is considered in the running. Subsequent submitters will be notified they were too late.
• The criteria as to what wins is really up to you. Do you like it because it's fun/entertaining? Because it's a usesful resource? Do you find it highly motivating? Do you just like the name of the blog? Whatever your logic, YOU, the voter will decide what's important to you and vote accordingly.
• Judging will be conducted via poll by visitors to byronteamred.blogspot.com
• The poll will accept 1 vote per IP address.
• Judging will end at noon on Jan 17th and results will be posted shortly thereafter.
• In the event of a tie, the tied sites will be re posted for a 3 day poll. If still tied, rock, paper, scissors may be the answer.
• You must be an Official Team RED member to submit an entry (but that is not required to place your vote). Not a member? Why not?! Membership is just $15 and with your membership you receive a moisture wicking short sleeve t-shirt (pictured below). Zip me a note with your intent to join and and I'll include your submission in the contest.

One final note: I just made up these contest rules on the fly. I reserve the right to add/change rules as I see fit.

Have fun!

What a great night at the RCTC track Tuesday. The field house was essentially empty, just our merry band of 9 runners, and a handful of other people walking... and a bit later we were joined by another very speedy band of runners. Our group consisted of Team RED members, Tom W, Casey, Renee K and myself. Other local runners (but not yet Team RED members) joining us included Marilee, Trevor, Renee S, Andy & Dave. They are a fun group!

People arrived in slightly staggered times, but essentially, we started with about 1.5 miles warmup at an easy pace. Then we decided on the ladder workout, which means, you run the following distances at a sustained fast pace, with 200M recovery in between each one. 400/800/1200/1600/1200/800/400... follow that with a cool down and a bottle of Red Stripe on Marilee.. all is good!

<< This was the reward! Thanks Marilee!

Reminder I: Thursdays Team RED is a joint venture with the Off Season Strider's. We'll meet at Beetles on 2nd St SW in Rochester as 4pm for 2-5 miles, followed by social time in the comfy confines of Beetles.

Reminder II: The annual RTC Polar Bear 5K Run will be held January 2nd and hosted by Renee Saxman. There will be lots of hot food and of treats available starting at 11:00 AM--you don't even have to run to participate! Family members and friends are invited to join in on the fun. You do not need to be a member of the Rochester Track Club to attend. Come out and enjoy! Renee doesn't want any leftovers!

A blast from the past 'cause I can't help but think of Prince's 1999 every time New Year's comes along! Enjoy and have a safe and Happy New Year!

A couple of things going on this week. Track workout is Tuesday at 5:30pm at the RCTC Field House (indoor track). Some members are arriving about 5:15 for some additional warmup time.

Given this Thursday falls on New Years Eve, I thought it would be nice to start a bit earlier (day light hours in fact!). With that said, Team RED is invited to join the Off Season Striders at Beetles on 2nd Street SW at 4pm. Distances will range between 2-5 miles. Then we head inside for a social. Should be fun!

With the New Year approaching, this little clip might add motivation for getting in shape... enjoy!

Reminder!

No Team RED this Thursday 12/24... Have a great Christmas and Holiday Season! Be sure to check out the upcoming opporutnities as well.

• Saturday 12/26 at 7:30 am -- Off Season Strider's at Dunn Bros. North. Typically 7-10 miles.
• Thursday 12/31 TBD - Team RED may run early. Update will follow in the coming days. The Off Season Strider's are considering a Happy Hour Run on New Years Eve as well.
• Friday 1/1 at 11 am - Resolution Run /Walk at the Running Room. This is a 5K and registration is open at runningroom.com
• Saturday 1/2 at 11 am -- Polar Bear 5K - Running not required, friends and family are invited as well! This is a free event sponsored by the Rochester Track Club. Hot food and treats will be available at Renee Saxmans home, 2026 Kal Lane SW

Below is a link to an inspiring story... it's an oldie, but a goodie!

Team RED heading to the track.. again!

Several Team R.E.D. members and Off Season Strider's are planning to hit the RCTC Field House for an indoor track workout again this week. Tuesday at 5:30 is the start! If available, consider joining... it's a lot of fun to do speed work with others, not so much alone (my opinion of course). This is something we hope to continue throughout the winter... and as weather turns this spring/summer... we can hit some outdoor tracks!


Off Season Strider's was rockin' and rollin' yesterday! There must have been about 20 runners sharing laughs and coffee afterwards! Several runners sported festive gear.

One brief story I can share. As we were winding down our morning, a woman (maybe in her 70's) approached me. She seemed to really like my antlers with bells. She wished me a Merry Christmas, then proceeded to slap my head 3 times... hard! Oh my... I was in shock! My car pool buddies and I laughed about that 'assault" almost all the way home.

Off Season Striders

Off Season Strider's roll out for approx. 9 miles from Panera Bread South at 7:30am Saturday morning. They're a great group and they finish each run with a social coffee.. it's a lot of fun, I'm joining! They'll be heading past the Salvation Army's Red Kettle, so bring a donation if you're so inclined, what a great idea!

I came across this interesting quote, spotted on a sign a spectator was holding at a marathon. Wonder if Melby heeded the warning.

"Mortuary ahead....look alive!"

What Fun!

Thanks to all who were able to take part in tonight's goofy event... you are all awesome! We somehow found a way to get some miles out of this, and yet enjoy a treat or two!

Welcome to Abby, Karl-Peter and Rachel.. all officially became Team RED members this evening! Membership has it's privileges, we just haven't defined those yet.

Happy Birthday to Annette! She took part in our 3-legged run, only to find out that when we got to her house (2nd Leg)... there was a group of friends waiting to surprise her! We let her off the running hook, and she was able to stay and have dinner with her friends.. Fun!

We'll certainly have to cue up one of these runs again in the future.

We're On!

Wow.. the weather outside is fantastic! Should make for a great progressive run tonight from O'Leary's to Melby's to Chmielewski's and back to O'Leary's.

Come join us! We'll kick off the road trip at 6pm from 805 1st Ave NW in Byron. Easy peasy.. let's have some fun!

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On another note, if you haven't seen Spirit of the Marathon, it's now available on hulu.com Check it out. Thanks Tom Woo for sending the link! It's so awesome to see.. no matter how fast, how slow, how elite, how new to running, this race will impact you.

http://www.hulu.com/watch/85354/spirit-of-the-marathon

News & Notes

We had a solid crew of people getting after it at the RCTC indoor track tonight. The workout was ladder style... meaning we started at 400M of hard effort.. followed by a recovery run.. then the hard effort was increased to 800M.. then 1200M.. then 1600M... and back down, 1200/800/400. Wrap the evening up with an easy paced cool down run.

Joining the fun was Randy, Roger, Casey, Marilee, Trevor, Mason and myself. Trevor was late, but he was dedicated to making up the workout.. and he made sure he put down the full quantity of fast laps. There was also another group of area runners who hit the track for 400M repeats while we were there. It's quite motivating to see people flying around the track.

I took a camera along, and of course, forgot to take pictures until things were complete and only a few of us remained. None the less, here's Trevor, Casey & Marilee post ladder work.

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Caroling on the Run takes place Wednesday in Rochester. This is such a fun looking event! They start at 6pm from the Running Room.. and finish back at the Running Room for some treats! The total miles are about 6 miles.. if you can't commit to the full route, it's tightly scheduled, feel free to join any portion that works for you! It's scheduled as follows:

6:00 Running Room to Charter House
6:15 Charter House
6:30 Charter House to Samaritan Bethany on 8th St
6:45 Samaritan Bethany
7:00 Samaritan Bethany up to 14th, to 11th and down to Ronald McDonald
7:45 Ronald McDonald
8:00 Ronald McDonald to Running Room

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Thursday of course is Team RED! See the post below for details for yet another great night of fitness and fun! We'll bounce around... and enjoy!

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OSS (Off Season Strider's) will meet Saturday, the following is from Mr. OSS John Shonyo:
Ho, ho, ho. As someone once said "to run is to do good", so we are giving you an opportunity to do both this Saturday. We will be meeting at Panera south at 7:30 AM and then walking a few feet west to Hy Vee where we will contribute to the Salvation Army's red kettle (for you bah humbuggers, this is strictly optional). This will be a staged event and there may be media folks there covering it, so hopefully we will get a lot of participation. And while we are at it...let's don our finest holiday running apparel. Thanks to Lin Gentling for bringing up the idea to do this!
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As always this winter season, make sure you dress properly, shorten your stride on slick roads and continue to have fun!

Progressive Snack Run! - Thursday 12/17 - 6pm

We have our hosts for this weeks Team RED progressive snack run! Please RSVP to byron.teamred@gmail.com so we know about how many to prepare for. Routes are posted on the right hand side of the blog, reference by which Leg and distance. Each leg is approx. 2 miles for runners and 1 mile for walkers.

We'll start at 805 1st Ave NW in Byron at 6pm -- Feel free to come a little early if you want a pre-run snack or beverage.



We'll roll from the O'Leary's to the Melby residence at 245 10th St NE in Byron. (Thanks for hosting!)



Following some holiday fellowship, we'll hit the road to the Chmielewski's at 507 9th St NW (thanks for hosting!).



Again a bit of holiday cheer.. then it's back to the O'Leary's for some warm Chilli, treats and a little more cheer! It should be a lot of fun! Come join us!

Hit The Track!

Team RED is getting faster at the RCTC Indoor Track Tuesday at 5:30pm for a speed work session. The Poll for best 'day of the week' was tight, with Monday winning slightly (and my favorite in fact).. however.. due to several notes I've received saying to the effect, "I like Monday but can't come this Monday"... I say let's got with Tuesday!

Who's on First? What? No... well.. you get the idea..

Come join us.. Tuesday at 5:30pm.. RCTC indoor track!

House to House (need 1 more host!)

Hey all! To put a twist in our Team RED nights... we'd like to do a house to house run. I'd get creative with the routes, so we'd meet at one house... run approx 2 miles to another ... or walk about 1 mile.... (so we all get there close to the same time)... have a treat (maybe even a cocktail)... . then run to the next. I think it could be a lot of fun!

So far we have 2 volunteers to host a portion of this event... If anyone is interested in hosting us as guests, please email me at byron.teamred@gmail.com 3 houses would be fantastic, as that would add up to approx 6 miles of running or 3 miles of walking!

Mainly.. it would add up to a unique, fun experience! Let's get it done!

Off Season Striders (OSS)

There's an opportunity for a group run tomorrow with the OSS group in Rochester. They will meet at Dunn Brother's north at 7:30 AM for a warm 7 to 10 mile run with a very nice hill climb. A link to the route is below. It shows the route as 8.29 miles, but you can cut the route to about 7 miles by not circling Silver Lake.. or extend it by taking a 2nd lap around it!

http://www.mapmyrun.com/run/united-states/mn/rochester/453096741

Have fun and dress properly!

No Team RED Thursday 12/10

Just a note to mention that we have cancelled Team RED for Thursday 12/10. -- this is not a regularly scheduled night, however, I know we've been meeting even on non-scheduled nights (which is great!)-- hence the cancellation posting. If you choose to run, please consider wind chill!

Below are a couple of great quotes to keep you motivated?

"The only reason I would take up jogging is so that I could hear heavy breathing again." - Erma Bombeck

"You have to forget your last marathon before you try another. Your mind can't know what's coming. " - Frank Shorter

Let it snow!

Postponed!

Hi all.. given the weather, and a lot of weather related feedback, I believe it's best to postpone tonights track workout to next week. A handful of us are planning to run the blizzardy streets of Byron this evening however.

If you'd like to join, please call me at 775-7054 as we haven't nailed down the start time just yet. Have a great night! Enjoy!

Faster!

There's a group of Team RED'ers planning to gather at the RCTC Indoor Track Tuesday at 5:30pm for a speed work session. We'd like to make this a weekly schedule for the winter. If interested, please come join us! Also, if you have interest, please participate in the poll on the right, as we have not fully locked into a specific day for each week yet.

We'll meet at 5:30.. and run a warm up.. then get into the speed! Should be fun! Right? After the workout, there is a runners social taking place at Beetles (starts at 6pm). If you're interested in joining that you may consider of change of clothing... Or not!

A couple notes

Off Season Striders are meeting at Dunn Brothers South (near TJMaxx) at 7:30 am Saturday morning for a run of approximately 7 miles. With this group you can always add or shorten the route to your liking. A couple of Team RED members are going in a 7am to add a few... come join us if you're available!

If you're considering the Med City Marathon or Half Marathon, consider signing up this month! If you register by 01/01/2010 it's a fantastic price! Just $30! There's also a 5K and a relay you can take part in. Check it out at http://medcitymarathon.com/

Not everyone is a racer... but for me, I find it helpful to put something on my calendar as a goal to work toward. Especially in the winter! There are some fun winter races ahead.

As you can see by the polls on the right hand side of the blog. We're getting ready to add some indoor track work to the winter regiment. There is nothing quite like the track to teach us how to go fast! With most track workouts, you'll do some type of repeats. For example, we might run 400 Meters fast, then run 200 Meters at a recovery pace.. then repeat. There are quite a few ways to dice it up... but essentially, it's hard effort followed by recovery time followed by hard effort. You do not have to be a speedster to try this, but it surely will help make you faster! We haven't yet nailed down the details... but if you're interested, be sure to let us know.

I can be reached at byron.tearmred@gmail.com

Nice Night!

We had a nice turnout for an early winter run last night at the Bears Den. Unfortunately, due to a scheduling conflict, I needed to split my time between Team R.E.D. and Dance Team parents... all good, just a bit of a juggling act!

We had a new runner join us last night, Welcome Bri ! Hope to see you back soon! I failed to get her email address... With that said, if anyone is interested in being on the Team RED email distribution list, please drop me a note at byron.teamred@gmail.com and we'll get you added!

While I was off having my fill of burgers, Paul Chm ran into a couple guys who inquired what we were up to. When he explained the concept of Team RED, they seemed interested saying "those are 3 things we like to do!" We'll watch for them in the coming weeks.

I also forgot my camera... can you believe it? Well, here's is what it looked like last night, only darker. haha.. actually the snow seemed to brighten things up quite a bit! Was pretty easy to see, I thought.

Tonight! 6pm!

Wow.. I almost forgot to post the update that we are indeed on for tonight! Routes are posted on the right hand side of the blog!

Wear a headlamp if you have one, and step carefully!

Rumors

As the lovely ladies of Hee Haw once said "I'm not one to go 'round repeatin' rumors... so you better be sure and listen close the first time."

Team RED blog got a hit from United States, Hattiesburg, Mississippi As far as I can tell, that means Brett Favre is considering joining Team RED as part of his cross training! To further support this widespread speculation, he's already got a red jersey!

Back at it!

Hope everyone had a great weekend! Below is a picture of some of those who gathered on Thanksgiving morning. What a great turnout! Thanks for organizing Paul & Annette!

A slideshow will follow when photobucket decides to cooperate.

Reminder - No Team R.E.D. Thanksgiving Evening

.... but, there are several opportunities available! Also, I've been working on the results of helmet cam from the Living History Farms cross country run. I've posted some stills (captured from video) below but still have a lot of editing on the video footage. -- note, if you're on facebook, several others pictures are posted there as well.

Thanksgiving Day
Paul Chmielewski is heading up a group run in Byron on Thursday morning at 8am, starting at his house, 507 9th St NW. The group will consist of runners and walkers alike. They plan to head toward the High School to slap the Bear on the backside.. at that point you can turn around for approx a 2.4 mile route, or continue toward Oxbow Park, and turn around at Cty Road 4 for a 4.8 mile route. If you have any questions about this run/walk you can contact me at bryon.teamred@gmail.com

Renee Saxman is leading a group run in Rochester on Thursday morning. They'll get started at 7am from Dunn Bros. South, (by TJMaxx). If interested in joining or have questions about this run, you can contact Renee at rsaxman@charter.net

Friday
Booker Mini Foundation 5K at the Rochester International Event Center (next to the airport) at noon on Friday - should be flat and fast! Details at rochestertrackclub.com Or if you have any question, you can contact Wally Arnold at arnoldw@live.com

Saturday
Gravy Train 12 Mile & 5K Fun Run at the Running Room at 8am Saturday. Meet inside the Rochester Running Room - doors will be open at 7:15a.m. Awards (most festively dressed) kick off the event! Just like dessert, its best to have awards first. Run to start immediately following awards. There is No-Entry Fee... just go and have fun!

Stills from Living History Farms.. what a blast!

Jim Raasch entering the creek!



Aaron Nepstad celebrating a crossing!



Shane Nepstad & Jim Mason Celebrating too!



Dan Lovik singing & sporting some antlers!
This whole team has quite good voices!



Shane O'Leary looking good, hanging with the crew!
Note: Jim's shirt reads "We've got the Runs!"



Jim Mason taking it all in!





Tom O'Leary running scared!



Aaron Nepstad follows the pretty girl through
the creek... smart guy!



Paul Melby taking the Short-cut!
No walking on rocks for Team RED.
Un-like those people in the background.



These girls just couldn't get muddy enough!

Living History Farms - 7 Miler

Eight of us made the trip to Urbandale, IA for the Living History Farms 7 mile cross country race. We somehow managed to have a blast without breaking much of a sweat! The course was packed with 7500 runners! Additional pictures, video and stories to share.. all in due time, check back for the fun!


Picture above: Jim Raasch, Shane Nepstad, (random woman) Shane O'Leary, Tom O'Leary, Aaron Nepstad. Also making the trip but not shown here, were Team R.E.D. members Paul Melby, Jim Mason and Dan Lovik.

Wonderful Night!

Thursdays Team RED had a nice mix of veteran REDers, along with some visitors as well! We even had an appearance from someone all the way from St Cloud. wait, no, that's Renee, she's Rochester... but she is a member of a great club in St Cloud, the St Cloud River Runners. All 3 of Thursdays routes were put to use on such a nice night, very little wind, good temperature.

The 5.9 mile route is heading to the archive as it had too many twists and turns, it was tough to keep track of! In fact, I was running with a group, a block or two behind another group, when BAM! Suddenly we were in front of them! haha.. they had accidentally added about 3/10ths to the route... overachievers!

After the run, the Bears Den was able to score us a couple high-top tables and we were able to continue with the E.D. portion of the evening. Great stories, great fun!

Truth is Revealed (Again!)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8367141.stm

Thursday 11/19 - Bears Den @ 6pm!

It's nearly Thursday again! Seems like just a week ago it was Thursday. We'll meet again this week at the Bears Den at 6pm. Routes will be posted on the side of the blog later today.

Come one, come all! Let's go for a run or walk!

Better Late Than Never!

Hi all.. I'm reposting the slideshow below, as I discovered the link appeared to be broken. These pics are from the Mayo Open 5K. It sure brings back memories of warmer, brighter days!

Updates

Team R.E.D. is on for 6pm this Thursday, 11/19 from the Bears Den. Routes should be posted sometime Wednesday. If you have a headlamp, please bring it, as we're finding them to be fantastic on the run & walk. Again, I'll keep us under street lights as well.

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Casey Graham is ready for speed work, if you're interested in hitting the track let us know. Next track workout is tentatively planned for this Wednesday at 5pm at the Byron Track. (It'll be getting dark, but you can see the white lines, this i know from some early morning workouts there).

Keep in mind this weeks workout is tentative, so please drop an email to byron.teamred@gmail.com if you think you want to join.

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As you may know, a few of us are heading to Urbandale, IA (near Des Moines), to run the Living History Farms. Our group consists of Team RED members, Paul Melby, Jim Mason, Aaron Nepstad, Dan Lovik, Matt Schrader, Jim Raasch and myself, we're also taking two non-team red guys... Shane & Shane (Nepstad & O'Leary).


I'm fully prepared with my newly built Team RED Cam! Yee haww! This race consists of 7500 people running an off-road course, complete with 8 creek crossings and steep embankments to climb. Team RED Cam will capture the action, and keep my hands free for grabbing the climbing ropes, I hope!

MN Grahaminator at Oxbow in the books!

It was a great turnout for the 1st ever Minnesota Grahaminator at Oxbow! We had 9 people complete the 10 mile (10.1!). Along with another 11 participants going distances ranging from 5 to 7 miles!

A special appearance was made by Mark Carey and Alex (sorry, I don't know his last name). They were out for a run in oxbow when they happened upon us and said "is there a race we don't know about?" The answer of course was "Yes, care to join us?"... and they did! They had already put in 6 miles.. so the 10 was just frosting on top!

This course offers several challenges, complete with steady inclines, leaf covered roots & rocks, and even a deer hunter!

Pictured here are our top male and female finishers, both Team RED members. Congrats to Casey Graham and Matt Schrader!

It's time....

... for the 1st annual Grahaminator at Oxbow! The 10 mile event kicks off at 9am Saturday from the 1st Bridge at Oxbow park. It's a wonderful course with fantastic views, along with a few challenging climbs!

There is no entry fee, provide your own aid on the run, and there will be bananas and oranges available at the finish. Casey and I are heading out there this afternoon, to try and mark the route. (hopefully the rain holds off, so I don't melt). Maps will be provided as well.

Our Grahaminator at Oxbow race director, Casey Graham, is seen here rubbing elbows with this years NYC Marathon champion Meb Keflezighi. Casey is flanked by two friends in this pic, no cropping like she might prefer to make it appear it's only her and Meb. Despite the many rumors, Meb is not likely to appear at Oxbow park this weekend.

What is this course like? The Grahaminator at Oxbow has a little bit of everything! You'll climb a series of steps leading to an early challenge of a hill loop. Upon completion you'll get a nice downhill through the bison and deer exhibits. Next, a flat stretch heading to 3rd bridge where you'll cross the river into the woods. Enjoy the beautiful winding climb to the prairie loop where you'll circle it -- No taking the Prairie Short-Cut! -- and re-enter the woods for an up & down rolling section of the course, you'll approach another steady climb only to be rewarded with a wonderful downhill ! This should bring you out near the 1st bridge and you'll now travel on the lower trails along the river until you reach the climb for one more loop around the prairie. Back into the woods and head toward 1st bridge. This time you'll cross the river as you prepare to celebrate your success! Should be fun! Come on out!

http://www.co.olmsted.mn.us/upload_dir/pw/oxbowpark.pdf

If this trail run opportunity isn't for you... you can set your alarm and join the Off Season Striders (OSS) at Dunn Bros North in Rochester at 7:30am. They're planning a 10 mile route, but as always, you cad add or subtract miles when running with OSS. Following the run, they'll gather for some coffee and social time at Dunn Bros.

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Thursday's Team R.E.D. was another success! We had a good turnout, with a mix of runners and walkers brave enough to take on the howling, twisting winds, wow, that was something! We added an extra headlamp in the group, and a couple hand held flash lights as well. Sure makes a difference. (additionally, I was wise enough to keep us in town, mostly under street lamps!) -- As usual, I forgot the camera, but will be posting some pics from some recent gatherings this weekend. --

That's it for now... have fun!

Thursday 11/12 - 6PM @ Bears Den

It's that time again! We'll meet at the Bears Den Thursday at 6pm... routes are posted on the right side of the blog. If you have a headlamp, consider bringing it. The very wise Jim Mason had one last week, and it was wonderful! The routes are in much better light this week as well, should be fun!

Something new to add to your calendar, is a monthly Runners Social, the 2nd Tuesday of each month at Beetles in Rochester. All are welcome, you don't need to be a member of the Rochester Track Club, Team R.E.D. or any other group for that matter. In fact, it's a 'no running required' type of night. It's also great chance to meet others with similar passion for fun and fitness! It's very interesting what you might hear people say at these types of gatherings. I was quite sure I heard Renee Saxman say she was taking a class at a "topless place"... however, she alleges she said "tapas place". hmmmm.... ok.. it's her story.

For those of you who don't know Renee, pictured left, she's is the editor of the Rochester Track Club newsletter, Race Director for the Fetzer 20K in the spring and she bakes cookies to no end! She also actively participates in and volunteers at Rochester Track Club events, as well as St Cloud River Runners events! She's on the run, so to speak! You can find a lot of information on running, baking and cooking at her blog ramblinrenee.blogspot.com -- you might want to visit her blog just to see that she called out Paul Melby nicely. haha..

Go Byron Bears Volleyball! State Tournament begins Thursday!

Great Story -- way to go Al!

Check out this link to a fantastic story about Al Jorgensen and his son, Nicholas. I'm looking forward to hearing more about their father-son trip!

http://www.postbulletin.com/newsmanager/templates/localnews_story.asp?z=2&a=424420

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In other news, a few of us took a trip over to Lake Mills, WI for a 1/2 Barrel (13.1 mile) and 1/6 Barrel (4.37 mile) race. The Barrel's come into play as the event is sponsored by Tyranena Brewery and held on the brewery grounds.

The city of Lake Mills is similar in size to Byron, yet they hosted 1500 runners between the two events. The registration fee included a post-race Lasagna dinner and 2 free beers! (somehow, we found a way to score additional free beers, shhhh... they were very good).

Making the trip were Paul Melby, Tom & Alex Woo, Mike Schmitt and myself. We ran into a handful of other Rochester area people as well. Tom & Alex ran the 1/6 barrel in which Tom proceeded to run very nicely, taking 5th place overall and winning his age group! Way to go Tom!

Paul, Mike and myself ran the 1/2 barrel, it had some hills, and was much warmer then one would anticipate for November 7th! Yet it was a blast.. this race is one that truly felt like an Event! It was very well organized, had fun music, and of course, great food and beer!

Results can be found at: http://www.tyranena.com/beerrun/website.htm

While Tom W was the fastest of us, I can say, I was the bravest, as I sported my Minnesota Vikings polo shirt during the pre & post race festivities. It was a great time.. traveling with other runners is always fun! It's on my calendar for next year, for sure!

More Opportunities!

11/07 - OSS Panera south at 7:30 AM. John has put together what he is calling a "interesting" route. The run is approx 10 miles, with places that you could add or subtract miles. He'll have maps available. By the way, huge congrats to John , pictured left, as he just competed in the New York City Marathon! Sweet!

11/07 - Bear Creek Predict Your Time 5 Mile at 9am. (race day registration starts at 7:30am). Additional Details at rochestertrackclub.com Hand crafted Trophies to top ten runners closest to their Predicted time. This fun event is directed by Team Red's own Chris O'Brien.

** It's entirely possible to run both of the above events if you're interested. You could log some miles with OSS, then head over to run the Bear Creek 5!**

11/14 - 1st annual Grahaminator at Oxbow. Casey Graham (another team RED member!) is running the show on this one. There is no entry fee, provide your own aid on the run, and she'll have bananas and oranges available at the finish. Prizes for the top male and top female finishers as well.

11/21 - Living History Farms Urbandale IA. This is billed as the largest Cross Country Race in North America. 7500 runners on a 7 mile course, containing 8 creek crossings! You will get wet! So far, we have a group of 4-5 officially signed up, and others considering. If you're interested, get signed up, and let me know, so we can work out the details of a carpool.

Additionally, good luck to those racing at Lake Mills WI this weekend!

Let's Run!

This Thursday, Nov 5th, we'll meet at Bears Den at 6pm. Routes will be posted Wednesday... another post with details to upcoming events will go up tomorrow as well!

The picture to the left clearly shows that Woo might not have finished at St George, aside from the fact I kept him moving! With that said, Tom just finished his 3rd marathon in 6 weeks this past weekend.. ahem... finishing 1st in his age group! He is a machine!

It's Dark!

Well, we've moved up the start time a couple times now, and I just don't think we can gain much by moving it any earlier, now that the darkness begins sooooo early!

Of late, we've been meeting at 6pm.. unless there are objections, I propose we stay right there!

If you're looking for a race opportunity there's a very fun one this Saturday. It's the Bear Creek Predict Your Time 5 Mile. It simply doesn't matter how fast you are... the person who predicts their finish time the closest, without finishing faster then the prediction, wins! Team RED member Chris O'Brien is the race director... go give it a shot! (I stink at predicting, by the way!.. haha.. but it's still fun!)

http://rochestertrackclub.com/Calendar/Calendar-Detail.aspx?raceID=233

Thursday 10/29 at the Den

Thursday 10/29 is another great night from the Bears Den. Let's meet at 6pm... all of the routes are posted on the right hand side of the blog. I suggest we start out heading west on the frontage road, so the bulk of frontage road running will be complete before it gets real dark.

Sounds like a new event is in the works, Casey Graham is planning to organize a trail race at Oxbow Park on Nov 14th, details will follow. Learned this great news while out for a run at Quarry Hill with Casey, Mike Schmitt, Jim Mason and Renee Kottschade. If you've never run or hiked at Quarry Hill, I suggest you take some time to take it in.. very nice!

That leads me to upcoming opportunities in the area:

10/31 - Spirit Run 5K & 10K at Holy Spirit School. Details at rochestertrackclub.com
10/31 - OSS at Dunn Brothers on Elton Hills drive at 7:30am for an 8.3 mile run.
11/07 - Bear Creek Predict Your Time 5 Mile. Details at rochestertrackclub.com
11/14 - Grahaminator! (I'm sure I spelled that wrong!)... details to follow!
11/21 - Living History Farms (Iowa is local)

Sections Cross Country - Go Bears!

The Byron Bears Boys Cross Country team is competing for a shot to go to State. They need to finish in the top 2 of Section 1A (20 teams competing). Additionally, while the girls team is not as likely to advance this year, there are some top individual performances you can witness as they chase the starting line at State!

John Resman puts in a lot of time and effort to make this a great section race. If interested, you can volunteer by contacting John at jresman@gmail.com

The event is Thursday 10/29 at Northern Hills golf course. I would suspect you'd be locked into the time frame of 3:30 PM to 5:30 PM and then be able to buzz back to Byron for Team RED! If you're available, consider some volunteer time at this meet, and watch out for the Bears!

Spirit Of The Marathon - Melby Style

There has been plenty of chatter about Paul's marathon photo... and before viewing, keep in mind, he ran an awesome race!

drum roll please.....

continue....

don't miss some of the grand details....

the eyes....

the mouth....

the fingers...

enjoy...

Doesn't it just look like fun!

Living History Farms

Sounds like we have some interest is going to Urbandale IA for the November 21st running of the History Living Farms 7 Miler. It's billed as the Biggest Cross Country Race in North America! (limited to 7500 runners).

Please email me at byron.teamred@gmail.com with your confirmation if you plan to attend, so we can figure out a car pool plan. Also, some options to consider would be to go on Friday Nov 20th, and get one nights lodging, or leave approx 4am on race day.

http://www.fitnesssports.com/November_races/LivHistFarms/lhf_index.html